Justin Trudeau said he will step down as Prime Minister and the leader of the Liberal party after a leadership contest.
His teary-eyed announcement follows months of growing calls from within the Liberal caucus for him to resign.
“This country deserves a real choice in the next election,” Trudeau told reporters outside Rideau Cottage, his official residence in Ottawa, on Monday, January 6, 2025. “It has become clear to me that if I’m having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election.”
He also said Governor General Mary Simon has agreed with his request to prorogue Parliament until March 24.
Trudeau said he asked Liberal party president Sachit Mehra to immediately start a leadership race.
The election is slated for fall this year, but an earlier vote seems to be likely.
Trudeau addresses Freeland’s resignation
The possibility of Trudeau stepping down has been front and centre for the past month after the surprise resignation of Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland on Dec. 16, as well as a slew of MPs saying they don’t plan to run again.
Freeland said she and Trudeau disagreed over how to deal with the country’s finances after U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on Canadian goods.
She was replaced by Dominic LeBlanc, who had been public safety minister since Marco Mendicino’s dismissal.
Trudeau finally publicly addressed Freeland’s departure Monday.
“I had really hoped that she would agree to continue as my deputy prime minister and take on one of the most important files that…this country is facing, but she chose otherwise,” Trudeau said. “In regards to what actually happened, I am not someone who is in the habit of sharing private conversations.”
Freeland thanked Trudeau for his years of service in a brief social media post Monday.
“I wish him and his family the very best,” she wrote.
Reaction pours in from politicians
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre released a statement Monday saying Canadians may be relieved that Trudeau plans to leave office, but his decision “changes nothing.”
He also says the only reason MPs are now pushing back against Trudeau is because he’s no longer popular enough to win an election and MPs are interested in saving their own jobs.
“Their only objection is that he is no longer popular enough to win an election and keep them in power. They want to protect their pensions and paycheques by sweeping their hated leader under the rug months before an election to trick you, and then do it all over again,” he wrote.
Poilievre said Canadians need an election, not a prorogued Parliament, so people can “take back control of their lives and their country.”
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said on social media Trudeau has let Canadians down, including with the cost of housing and groceries and fixing the health-care system.
He said the Liberals don’t deserve another chance, and that the Conservatives are not a viable option to replace them.
Instead, Singh is pitching Canadians to vote for him in a coming election, saying if they do so they’ll have a government that works for them “for a change.”
Trump responds with dig about Canada being 51st state
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump weighed in on the news from Ottawa, pushing his previous narrative of Canada being nothing more than the 51st state.
“The United States can no longer suffer the massive Trade Deficits and Subsidies that Canada needs to stay afloat. Justin Trudeau knew this, and resigned,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “If Canada merged with the U.S., there would be no Tariffs, taxes would go way down, and they would be TOTALLY SECURE from the threat of the Russian and Chinese Ships that are constantly surrounding them. Together, what a great Nation it would be!!!”
The president-elect has repeated the taunt since Trudeau travelled to have dinner at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in November.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says that while Trump continues to threaten 25 per cent tariffs, the Canadian government needs to avoid them at all costs.
He said Canada needs to “demonstrate stability and strength at this critical moment,” and that the federal government must “urgently explain” to Canadians how they’ll work to push back against tariffs that could be devastating on the economy.
– With files from The Canadian Press.
